Singapore may be keen to develop computer games and animated movies on its shores but frankly, the country is too tame for the typical digital media worker — this according to a man who should know.
Its strait-laced image could stand in the way of the Republic becoming an interactive and digital media hub, said Mr Peter Schwartz (picture), co-founder and chairman of the Global Business Network.
"The game development culture is a culture that is rather loose and wild, and Hollywood is the same," said Mr Schwartz, who was in town as a member of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council to discuss research and development proposals in strategic areas identified by Singapore.
He added: "If you are going to be in the business of developing entertainment media, you are going to have to deal with a fairly scruffy type of person. Singapore is not too good at dealing with scruffy people; you don't like people like that much around here.
"One of the challenges is: Are you going to be sufficiently tolerant of the kinds of creative people in these industries that often emerge in very creative societies?"...
I was thinking about this... think somehow there's this implicit idea being conveyed through this article that "bohemian types of people automatically equals extra-creative types". Creative as in the media sense.
"The game development culture is a culture that is rather loose and wild, and Hollywood is the same" ...
But to ask a question here: Is it really necessary to have a "rather loose and wild" culture in order to encourage creativity here? Creativity in the media arts and the like?
No, think the real issue here is whether we have a culture that encourages entrepreneurial-style experimentation and exploration. It doesn't matter whether you smoke pot or not - I mean, c'mon, marijuana does damage to your brain - even Ozzie Osbourne, the famous metal-rocker, has spoken out against drugs, showing people just how fried his brain has been due to drugs...
Think what Mr Schwartz, a member of Singapore's Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council, said at the end of the article is really the key to helping boost Singapore's creative industries then... he also said that Singapore is too obsessed with success to create an atmosphere conducive to experimentation and exploration.
Therefore, if we really want to see a boom in developing creative talents, the following must be done:
1. Identify the strengths and talents of each and every individual.
I think this is where the old primary school streaming system, frankly, is inadequate. It does aim to help cater to different people's specific needs - but I think it may be approaching this attempt the wrong way. Instead of trying to conform people to an external academic standard, why not see where the strengths and talents of each person lies, and develop that particular talent? One could compare it to prospecting for various resources in various mines... mining for talent, if you would call it. One looks for iron, another looks for gold, and yet another looks for oil. All very different, but all very important in their own God-given ways.
Think much encouraging progress has already been made in this area, and Singapore is advancing well in this area e.g. the Singapore Sports School, the setting up of the National Youth Council and other areas.
2. Then secondly, think the next step is to grow and develop a culture where people are not condemning, but rather, accepting of failures, and encouraging one another to stand up again and try again from another angle. This is where our country has yet to grow in this area - we, right now, are quite a "bo-chup" group of people. I know, I'm one of them too. :)
3. Then thirdly, the most important step is to reproduce talent. By reproducing talent, I don't mean physical reproduction! I mean, it isn't enough to merely develop our own talents to the maximum - we MUST pass it on and multiply our talents to others who are interested to learn more. In this way we can lay up a strong foundation for future budding media developers and designers. (I think this isn't a new fad - old Chinese gongfu masters have been doing this for ages... haha...)
So, in conclusion, the key to developing a strong and thriving creative media industry in Singapore lies NOT in having "a culture that is rather loose and wild", but rather, growing and developing a culture that is supportive and encouraging people to experiment and explore (within safe boundaries) their inner muses. And the call, for us Christians, is especially critical, when you consider the increasing numbers of young people who are playing computer games to interact with one another... the onus is on us to be salt and light in the media industry.
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